SIBS Staff

Meet Our Team

Suzanne Kornblatt is a licensed social worker and received her graduate degree from Adelphi University. She has been with SIBSPlace of South Nassau Communities Hospital since 2004 and holds the title of Executive Director SIBS/Child & Family Life. Ms. Kornblatt identifies and initiates the development of prevention and support services to meet client needs. She monitors overall operations of the SIBSPlace program including supervising the creation of the children's monthly therapeutic curriculum, planning and facilitating on-site and off-site special events and providing support and guidance to program participants through individual and group work. In her position as Executive Director of SIBSPlace, Inc. Ms. Kornblatt is a liaison to SNCH Board.

Ms. Kornblatt serves as a referral source to families providing information and referrals and facilitates a weekly parent support group. In addition, she co-facilitates SIBSPlace bereavement support groups. Ms. Kornblatt offers staff and volunteers supervision and in-service training. She maintains the SIBSPlace website and creates quarterly newsletters to sustain public relations, increase community awareness and facilitate agency networking. She has lent her expertise to SNCH's World Trade Center Family Center by facilitating events, maintaining the website and providing administrative support.

In 2011 Ms. Kornblatt co-authored Staying Afloat- A Support Guide to Help Parents and Well Siblings Cope with Family Illness. Ms. Kornblatt was honored in 2011 with the Town of Hempstead's Pathfinder Award in the category of Health Services and in 2012 for her commitment to families in crisis, Ms. Kornblatt, was named a Fortune 52 honoree by Long Island Press.

Ms. Kornblatt co-facilitates community education trainings on-site and off-site on siblings' response to illness and anxiety management in children; increasing community understanding of anticipatory grief and the impact on a child's life. Ms. Kornblatt co-authored poster presentations for the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies Conferences: 2005 in Toronto, Canada and 2006 in Los Angeles, California. In 2013 she provided an educational training for the Mental Health Association at Hofstra University, co-facilitated a workshop at the National Alliance for Children's Grief in Phoenix, Arizona, and was keynote at the Sudden Infant and Child Death Resource Center in Manhattan. March 2015, Ms. Kornblatt co-presented at SNCH's Nursing Grand Rounds about SIBSPlace and the psychosocial impact illness has on the well child in a family. In 2016 Ms. Kornblatt co-presented at the Mental Health Association of Nassau County and International Association for Social Work with Groups Conference at New York University. She presented at both SNCH's Mental Health and Medical Grand Rounds on the impact of traumatic medical illness on the family system. Ms. Kornblatt also highlighted the needs of the well child at the Association for Pediatric Hematology Oncology Education Specialists/Association for the Education of Children with Medical Illness Conference at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2017, she co-presented once again at the Mental Health Association of Nassau County on the impact of bereavement on a child and family system.

Joanna Formont, LMHC
Assistant Director SIBSPlace

Joanna Formontis a licensed mental health counselor and has been employed at SIBSPlace for South Nassau Communities Hospital since 2004. Assistant Director of SIBSPlace, Ms. Formont graduated with a Bachelor's of Science in Psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and Teachers College, Columbia University with a Master's degree in Counseling Psychology. She has provided individual and group services to children and families in crisis for over 18 years.

Ms. Formont coordinates the development and implementation of an activities based curriculum for children's anticipatory grief and bereavement programming. She co-facilitates the verbal activity groups and started a teen support group to help address the needs of the older child. Ms. Formont also assists with bereavement groups as needed. She contributes to planning and co-facilitates on and off site activities and events and provides support and guidance to program participants. Ms. Formont oversees participant and volunteer records, completes intake, and monitors monthly outreach. She assists Executive Director in format development of quarterly newsletter and with additional administrative tasks, including overseeing and managing social media platforms. Ms. Formont assisted the World Trade Center Family Center by providing client and outreach services. In 2011 Ms. Formont co-authored Staying Afloat- A Support Guide to Help Parents and Well Siblings Cope with Family Illness. She is currently a member of the SIBSPlace, Inc. Board.

Ms. Formont also co-facilitates community education trainings on siblings' response to illness and anxiety management in children. She co-authored poster presentations on the impact of a devastating illness on the well sibling for the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies Conferences: 2005 in Toronto, Canada and 2006 in Los Angeles, California. In 2013 she co-facilitated a workshop at the National Alliance for Children's Grief in Phoenix, Arizona, provided an educational training for the Mental Health Association at Hofstra University and was keynote at the Sudden Infant and Child Death Resource Center in Manhattan. In 2015, Ms. Formont co-presented at SNCH's Nursing Grand Rounds about SIBSPlace and the psychosocial impact illness has on the well child in a family. Ms. Formont co-presented on the benefit of peer support groups for the well child in a family in 2016 at the Mental Health Association of Nassau County and International Association for Social Work with Groups Conference at New York University. She presented at both SNCH's Mental Health and Medical Grand Rounds on the impact of traumatic medical illness on the family system. She also highlighted the needs of the well child at the Association for Pediatric Hematology Oncology Education Specialists/Association for the Education of Children with Medical Illness Conference at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2017, she co-presented once again at the Mental Health Association of Nassau County on the impact of bereavement on a child and family system.

Kerri L. Wagner, MA, CAT
Child & Family Life Specialist SIBSPlace

Kerri L. Wagner is the Child & Family Life Specialist for SIBSPlace/South Nassau Communities Hospital. She received her BA in Early Childhood, Elementary and Art Education, SUNY College at Cortland, 1979 and her Master of Arts, Creative Arts Therapies, Hofstra University, 1982. Her diversified background in art therapy and Child Life prepared her for her position as art therapist at SIBS. Since 2008 she has helped create and facilitate therapeutic art directives for children and adolescents who have a sibling or parent with a life threatening illness. In addition she co-facilitates SIBS bereavement support groups and provides Child & Family Life services throughout many departments in the hospital.

Ms. Wagner advocates for children and focuses on family centered care through the work she provides across the SNCH campus. In 2014, she began training medical/nursing staff and medical/nursing students on the benefits of Child & Family Life services within a hospital setting. As part of her South Nassau responsibilities she offers a sibling support group at St. Mary's Hospital for Children in Bayside. In March 2015, Ms. Wagner co-presented at SNCH's Nursing Grand Rounds about SIBSPlace/Child Life and the impact illness has on children.

Ms. Wagner co-presented in 2016 at SNCH's Medical Grand Rounds on the impact of hospitalization and traumatic medical illness on the family system. Creatively, she has initiated an annual inter-departmental hospital-wide project to heighten awareness of SNCH's Child & Family Life services. In 2017, Ms. Wagner was selected to receive the Town of Hempstead's Pathfinder Award for her outstanding work in Health Services and her ongoing commitment to children and families. Educational presentations and achievements include: Pediatric Unit Based Council, SNCH "The Role of the Child & Family Life Specialist in the Hospital Setting" 2013; Press Coverage, "Child Life Interventions With International Pediatric Patients" 2012, 2013; Nursing Rounds, SNCH "The Role of the Child & Family Life Specialist in the Hospital Setting" 2013; LIHN Annual Symposium Poster Presentation, Nassau County, "HELP, Hospitals Empowering Lifelines Through Peers" 2013; Professional Development Workshops, NYC, "Preparing Children for Hospitalization and Health Care Encounters" 1982-1986; Photo Documentary, NYC, "The Realities of Hospitalization for Children and the Benefits of Child Life" 1981.

Kaitlyn Clifford, BA
Counselor SIBSPlace

Kaitlyn Clifford has been a counselor at SIBS since October 2015. Ms. Clifford is a graduate of CUNY Hunter College where she earned her BA in Sociology. She is currently pursuing a career in social work at Fordham University. In her role as counselor, Ms. Clifford assists the professional mental health staff in providing support to the children during programming. In addition, she performs an array of essential organizational tasks and community outreach, with focus on social media.

Get in touch

If you are interested in learning more about SIBSPlace, send us a message or contact us at